San Diego Padres Daily Farm Report: July 27

Chihuahuas Rained Out

The series finale against Sugar Land got rained out. El Paso was planning to start Manuel Castro in a bullpen game, keeping Ryan Bergert available for the big club. The teams announced that they will make up the contest during the final series of the year, although this is dependent on whether it impacts playoff seeding.

Missions 6, Midland RockHounds 1

Key Stats: C Brandon Valenzuela 2-for-4, HR (12); DH Albert Fabian 2-for-4, 2B; RF Moisés Gómez 2-for-4, 2B; RHP Henry Baez 5 IP, 4 H, ER, 2 K, HBP; RHP Andrew Moore IP, 2 K, BB, HBP, WP; RHP Kevin Kopps 1.2 IP, H, 3 K, BB

Prospect Watch: San Antonio snapped a five-game losing streak and picked up just their second win since the All-Star break. John Conniff rounds out his on-site coverage with all the details.

TinCaps 9, Cedar Rapids Kernels 4

Key Stats: CF Kai Roberts 2-for-5, SB (20); DH Leo De Vries 2-for-5, HR (8), BB; SS Brandon Butterworth 2-for-5, HR (11), 3 RBI; LF Kaden Hollow 2-for-4, 2B, BB, SB (1); C Oswaldo Linares 2-for-3, BB, HBP; LHP Luis Gutierrez 5.2 IP, 7 H, 4 ER, 2 HBP; LHP Fernando Sanchez IP, 2 K; RHP Garrett Hawkins IP, K

Prospect Watch: The entire TinCaps lineup broke out the hitting sticks Sunday as the visitors put up a nine-spot and every batter contributed at least one hit to claim a series split in Iowa. … In the midst of a breakout power year, Brandon Butterworth connected on his team-best 11th homer and had a two-hit day. The 22-year-old, who had 12 homers total across three years of collegiate ball and didn’t put one out of the park in 110 plate appearances for Lake Elsinore last summer, now ranks in the top 10 in the Midwest League with a .193 isolated power rate. A natural middle infielder, Butterworth played left and center field this year as the organization looks to build his versatility. A 12th-round pick last year, Butterworth has gotten to more power without sacrificing bat-to-ball skills. He’s struck out at a solid 20.8% clip and sports a 10.2% swinging strike rate that’s in the top quarter of the league. … Butterworth was at shortstop because Leo De Vries got a day off his feet at designated hitter. The 18-year-old stayed busy, going 2-for-5 with a walk. Hitting from the left side, he jumped a 2-1 fastball leading off the fifth inning and hit a frozen rope over the right field wall for his eighth homer of the year. After reaching base three times Sunday, he has an .839 OPS this month. Despite being a natural right-handed batter, he continues to do much of his damage from the left side. On the year, he has hit .252/.365/.439 against righties, an OPS 159 points better than his mark against southpaws. … Starter Luis Gutierrez had an up-and-down outing. He made it through his first five innings of work, allowing just one earned run, though he hit two batters and didn’t record a strikeout. Nevertheless, sitting at 63 pitches, he came out for the sixth inning for the first time in seven outings since joining the TinCaps. The lefty allowed three hits in the frame, including a pair of doubles, but left with two men on and two outs, having allowed just one more run. Righty Eiker Huizi appeared to strike out Cedar Rapids DH Justin Connell to strand them. Still, his would-be strike three was called a ball, and he surrendered a two-run double on the next offering to leave Gutierrez with a hard-luck final tally of four runs surrendered. Huizi bounced back to strike out the next batter, even as his pitching coach, Thomas Eshelman, got thrown out for his commentary to the home plate umpire from the dugout. Huizi, who rejoined Fort Wayne from a rehab assignment on Friday, punched out two more batters in a scoreless seventh and, thanks to a three-run outburst by his offense in the top of the frame, was credited with the victory. … While the TinCaps offense plated two more in the ninth to keep it from being a save opportunity, closer Garrett Hawkins came on anyway. He set down the side in order, finishing out the game with a strikeout as he relied heavily on his riding fastball that sat at 95. The big righty from Saskatchewan has now worked 32 consecutive scoreless innings, the longest stretch in affiliated baseball since 2017. Midwest League hitters have managed just a .121 average against him on the year and have struck out 37.2% of the time.

Storm 9, Stockton Ports 1

Key Stats: SS Cobb Hightower 3-for-5, 2B, BB, DH Kale Fountain 1-for-4, HR (1), 2 BB; LF Alex McCoy 0-for-4, BB, HBP, SB (4), 3 R; 2B B.Y. Choi 3-for-3, 2B, 4 RBI; RHP Abraham Parra 6 IP, 2 H, ER, 5 K, 3 BB, WP; LHP Braian Salazar 2 IP, 3 K; RHP Kleiber Olmedo IP, 3 K

Prospect Watch: The Storm dominated every facet of the game Sunday evening, cruising to a 9-1 victory to claim a series win in Stockton. The lineup pounded out 14 hits and went 7-for-17 with runners in scoring position, but a career-best start by Abraham Parra made most of the offense superfluous. Parra, 19, matched a career high by working six innings and gave up only one run on two hits. The righty from Venezuela opened the year in the desert, but joined the Storm staff in mid-May. Parra inked his deal with the Padres later in the 2023 signing period as a 17-year-old and got solid results in the DSL despite a low strikeout rate. He struggled with command in his first pass at stateside baseball last year, but has established himself as at least a system contributor going forward. … While Parra cruised, the offense put up runs early and often. Cobb Hightower set the table well out of the leadoff spot, collecting three hits, including a double and drawing a walk. After managing just one three-hit game in his first 35 contests, the 20-year-old shortstop has had two in the last three nights, adding 53 points to his OPS in the process. Last year’s third-rounder has shown good bat-to-ball skills, but has struggled to get results in his first professional campaign. … Kale Fountain crushed his first Cal League homer leading off the eighth inning, blasting it deep over the left field wall. Fountain had exactly one hit in each of the five games he played in the series. … B.Y. Choi made his return from the IL a memorable one, going 3-for-3 and driving in four runs. While he only spent seven days on the IL, Choi had last played on July 5. The 23-year-old, the Padres’ 20th-round pick in 2023, had a double on the night, helping him to a season-best four total bases. The Korean national started the year very slowly, but has an OPS north of .800 since the start of June. A left-handed batter, Choi has logged time at every defensive position except catcher and center field this year. … Infielder Zach Evans continued a hot July, going 3-for-6 to push his line for the month to .333/.394/.389. A senior sign on day two of the draft last year, Evans has his average for the year up to .298.